Revelations after a Revolution
by Ludivine d'Loire
Summary: Just after Shishio's rebellion, Kenshin is told exactly how devastated Kaoru was when he left. He decides to let her know how he survived his battle...and then she asks him if he thinks her boobs are fat. This is my first fic :] I'm excited!


Okay, I'm Maka and this is my first story…it's not that good, but I'm okay with that. I just needed to post something..I've been a member forever…

I do not own any part of Rurouni Kenshin…even though I could have thought of the entire thing…I didn't…I'll just have to put up with my second rate fics….

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Revelations after a Revolution

The clouds above the Aoiya kept the sun from being too harsh; the morning was warm, a precursor to a hot day. The members of the Oniwabanshu and the not-so-formally-named Kenshingumi presently presided at the inn, both groups having just fought another one of Battousai's old enemies.

The aura of calm at the Aoiya was quite welcome to the warriors; Shishio was certainly the greatest obstacle Japan had seen in some time, and those people who were responsible for his demise were tired. Although Shishio was dead, the effects his rebellion had caused were still open sores on everyone involved, most notably, the former Battousai himself.

Megumi sighed as she tied the ribbon of gauze about Kenshin's abdomen. She looked up, level with his nape.

"Now, Ken-san, I want you to be very careful; the slightest vigorous movement will open your wounds and all this cotton will have gone to waste."

Megumi could not see his smile from behind him, but it was wide. She was always chastising him when it came to his health. "Thank you, Megumi-dono. I'll be on my best behavior, that I will."

* * *

Kaoru smiled as she sat with Misao; the sun reached only their left and right legs respectfully, as they faced one another on the porch. Misao had kept the conversation lively, as was her custom.

"And now that everyone is back from Shishio's, maybe you can get a jumpstart on yours and Himura's relationship!"

Kaoru blushed. "Misao! He's injured still…he can't do much."

Misao laughed. "I didn't know you had anything like _that_ on your mind!"

"No! I mean…He's going to have to take it easy for a while…I don't want something like…_us_…getting him worked up when he can barely walk."

Misao judged her with only one open eye. "I think he wants you to hurry up; you are all he likes to talk about! No lie," she added, and sipped her tea.

Kaoru looked down at her own cup; her own tired eyes stared back at her dully; she'd lost so much sleep in the last few weeks, and it was all catching up to her. Would Kenshin find those eye-bags so alluring?

* * *

Megumi pulled her forehead back from Kenshin's shoulder, sniffling. "I'm sorry, Ken-san; you just put everyone through so much."

Kenshin was quiet; another woman had just cried for him…

"Now, when you left, Ken-san…Kaoru-chan was devastated; she kept to her bed; the girl didn't even eat, and you know as well as I do how much she enjoys food, especially my ohagi."

Kenshin smiled weakly, his neck painful because of the way his head hung; his only sight was his folded legs.

"It took a lot to get her even out of bed, Ken-san; do you know what I had to do? I had to suggest she follow you. Quite forcefully, I might add; Kaoru-chan could not think for herself, Ken-san; she was, in all honesty, half dead."

Megumi heard his sharp inhale and smirked; her words _were_ effective, then. "When everyone was fighting here, I can honestly say, I have never seen a woman so determined. As soon as it was over, she wanted to storm Shishio's stronghold and help you."

Kenshin smiled, his vision blurred by the tears still holding fast in his eyes. "She _is_ wonderful."

Megumi smiled and nodded. "She loves you very much, Ken-san, as do we all; but you know the love I'm talking about. If you were to ever leave her again, I am safely saying that it would kill her."

Kenshin tensed, and a tear fell onto his ankle. He tried to compose himself, and, being a master of restraint, succeeded. It took a lot though, he would admit that.

Megumi stood. "I'm not going to make you reveal your feelings for her, as it is very clear you share hers, but I will say this: The longer you wait, the more she'll doubt your feelings, and if she reaches a certain point, it will be hard trying to convince her. Just remember that, Ken-san."

"Megumi-dono?"

Megumi turned away from the shoji, inquiring with her feminine brow.

"Could you…summon Kaoru-dono for me, please?"

Megumi bowed her head. "Certainly, Ken-san."

* * *

"Kenshin wants to see me?" Kaoru asked in disbelief.

Megumi nodded. "Now, I beg you, tanuki-chan, please refrain from punching, kicking, or otherwise pummeling him in an anger fit; keep your temper in check, as he is very fragile in this state."

Kaoru blushed shamefully, but nodded. She opened the shoji to go inside, but Megumi made her pause.

"And another thing; if you must hug him, do so gently."

Kaoru's nod was slow and unsure, but she hurried inside and found the room that held Kenshin. She took a breath and wondered if she was about to hear something for which she would want to hug Kenshin. Her curiosity flared, and she pulled open the barrier that separated her from the man she loved.

Kenshin looked up at her with the most genuine smile she'd ever witnessed him give. "Hello, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru smiled. "Hi, Kenshin."

Kenshin patted the floor on his right side. "Please, come sit with me."

Kaoru obeyed, but sat a respectable distance from him. She looked up, then at the wall, at the floor…anywhere but at him. She gasped when he held her hand.

"Kaoru, I am very sorry for what I put you through. I never knew the extent to which you really cared."

His address was so comfortably paced; he went almost too slow, but even if he'd spoken quickly, it would still be torture to Kaoru. Kenshin always had a way with words…and an abundance thereof.

"I suppose I tried to ignore it, Kaoru-dono. I didn't want you to get involved with my battles, be they inner or otherwise." He gently massaged her hand as he thought. "I know now that I can only expect you to take it upon yourself to defend me in any way it is possible." Kenshin looked up, seeing far beyond the wooden wall. "When you appeared at my sensei's dojo, I truly was angry. I didn't want you to be there; not because you annoy me," he gave her a quick smile and turned back to his wall, "but because I didn't want you to see me training. If you saw the way a monster such as Battousai was created…"

Kenshin shook his head. "And, if you saw me learning, I was afraid you'd lose your faith in me. To see the man you love, you count on, learning something new gives him humanity; it would show you that I do have weaknesses, and I want you to always count on me and my sword, Kaoru-dono."

"Kenshin…" Kaoru's eyes filled.

He looked to her again and gave her a weak smile. "I want to be the only man you count on, Kaoru." His eyes returned to their dreamlike state when he turned back, once again, to stare through the wall. "As I ran through Shishio's halls, I felt you with me, Kaoru. At one point, I even heard you call my name." He smiled brightly at that memory. "You were with me in spirit, Kaoru; that kept me going. You are the reason I am still alive right now, Kaoru."

Kaoru squeezed his hand, hanging on to every word he said.

"In a way, I'm very happy that Megumi-dono convinced you to follow me. If you hadn't showed up at my sensei's door…Kaoru, my last memory of you would have been as a crying little girl." Kenshin turned to her and, to Kaoru's utter astonishment, pulled her into his lap. He rested his chin on her shoulder and continued. "But, as always, you followed your own word and surprised me. Had I died in my battle, and I am completely convinced that I would have, had you never come to Kyoto, my final memory would have been of a headstrong young woman who never, ever, failed to prove me wrong."

He pecked her blushing cheek. "Now that we have forever, I would like nothing more than to show you, every day for the rest of my life, how much you matter to me."

Kaoru turned to him, her cheeks wet with the trails her tears made. "Kenshin…"

He smiled at her and slowly, agonizingly, pressed a warm kiss to her forehead. Kaoru's sobs resurfaced, and Kenshin held her to him in a tight hug, reminiscent of their firefly night. "I love you so much, Kaoru," Kenshin whispered; he felt Kaoru quivering with her tears and smiled sadly.

Kaoru held gently to his neck, her sobs quieting. "Kenshin…?"

Kenshin pulled himself from her to see her face more easily.

She played with the bandages on his chest. "I love you too."

Kenshin chuckled. "Good, good…I was hoping so." He looked at her lips, and found he could not keep himself from tasting them.

Kaoru tensed when he forced his mouth against hers. She relaxed when she realized who was kissing her. When Kenshin's hand tangled in her loose up-do, she melted into him and finally, Kenshin felt her respond. He gently, but firmly, held her neck and tried to bring her closer.

Kaoru blushed when she felt her breasts crush against his chest. Would he think they were too big? Fat, even? She pulled away from his lips uncertainly.

"Kaoru?"

"S-Sorry…I…my chest rubbed against yours…"

Kenshin chuckled. "Yes, that seems to happen when people sit the way we are now."

"People sit this way often?"

Kenshin's heart jumped at her innocence… "You are naïve, Kaoru." Her eyes were worried, and Kenshin redeemed himself. "It's cute, koishi."

Kaoru blushed at the new name Kenshin had for her. "Kenshin…"

He smiled and kissed her softly. "Why don't we keep our feelings a secret from everyone else?"

Kaoru looked up at him. "Are you…ashamed…?"

Kenshin chuckled. "Of course not…But I don't think my injuries will be able to endure any pats on the back and other…less gentle ways that Sano and our other friends like to express their congratulations."

Kaoru thought of the countless times she found Sano rubbing his knuckles on Kenshin's poor scalp. The memories made her smile, albeit half-heartedly.

Kenshin noticed her troubled mind. "What's the matter?"

Kaoru huffed. It was so improper to ask, but…Kenshin really didn't seem to mind; they were alone, at least. Kaoru took a breath and let the words fall. "Do you think I have fat boobs?"

Kenshin threw his head back, guffawing at her insecurities. "Kaoru! That must have taken a lot of nerve to ask…"

Kaoru stood and stomped to the shoji. "It did, and thank you for your rudeness! I'm leaving."

"No! Kaoru…" Kenshin chuckled, "please, come back; let me tell you what I think."

Curiosity was, once again, Kaoru's downfall. It was her weakness, and Kenshin knew it. He used it against her many a time.

Kaoru returned, but sat across from him instead of in his lap. She crossed her arms over her voluptuous chest in an attempt to keep the mounds from view and waited.

Kenshin, still chuckling, held her cheek gently in his palm. "It's alright, Kaoru; your chest is very nice. They're not fat, they're…big."

Kaoru scoffed. "Well, thanks, that's so much better," she whined sarcastically.

"No, you misunderstood; men like them big, my dear…Yours are everything a man could want. They're not fat, by any means…You're just well-endowed."

Kaoru was still blushing, and Kenshin took it upon himself to rid her of her insecurities. He sat next to her and tilted her chin to whisper in her ear all the things he'd like to do to her chest.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru exclaimed when she found out. Her smile was wide. "People really do that? I thought only babies—"

"Kaoru, there are many things couples do behind closed doors that you would think of as taboo…"

"Well, I know they…make love," Kaoru squeaked.

Kenshin chuckled. "Yes, but you think of it so simply; there are many things that come with just the…joining part, if you will."

Kaoru wanted to ask, but felt it would be better to do so at a different time.

Kenshin kissed her cheek. "Don't worry, love; I'll teach you all you have to know."

Kaoru blushed at his promise. "We should eat breakfast, now," she said weakly.

Kenshin nodded. "We should." He stood with her help, and as they walked into the kitchen, Kenshin retreated to his polite, distant behavior that Kaoru both loved and hated. She would simply have to wait for Kenshin, just as she always had done.

* * *

And that's a wrap! How was it? Boring? Wordy? Full of OOCness? Yes, all of the above…but I wrote in fifteen minutes, so give me a break. Review, please! Tell me what you think. Thanks! 


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